


X-23: Runaway

by badgerterritory



Category: Marvel 616, Runaways (Comics), X-23 (Comic)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-04-17
Packaged: 2018-01-19 19:24:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1481194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badgerterritory/pseuds/badgerterritory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico follows a blood trail. She doesn't expect what she finds at the end of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	X-23: Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> This is almost definitely not my best work, as fate and internet conspired against it. Runaways canon adjusted in places, and the Laura vs. Wolverine fight never happened.

Nico was taking a night walk when she found the blood trail. She followed it, pricking herself with a needle to bring out the Staff of One. At the end of the trail she found a girl, about her age, standing over the body of a man. She had two claws extended from one hand, which had blood dripping down them. She glanced up at Nico and said in a flat voice, “I didn’t kill him.” Nico approached carefully. When she was ten feet away the girl said, “He was a pedophile. I was going to kill him. But someone else did first. I failed my mission.”

Once Nico was ten feet away, she saw how the girl’s arm was covered in cuts that were slowly healing. “My name is Nico,” she said. “What’s yours?”

The girl’s eyes flickered to the Staff of One. “If you intend to attack me with that staff, I will kill you.”

"I’m not going to attack you." Nico set the staff down, leaning it against the alley wall. "See? I don’t really attack anyone with it, anyways. I use magic. What’s your name?"

The girl hesitated. Then she said, “My mother gave me the name Laura. Laura Kinney.”

Nico nodded. “Laura, can I take you to my friends? You should get cleaned up before the police arrive.”

Laura’s head tilted to the side. “I am on a mission. A police officer told me that someone with power should kill all the pedophiles in this city. I am doing so. I cannot abandon my mission.”

Nico grabbed Laura’s bloodied arm and tilted it slowly to examine it. Laura allowed it, simply watching Nico’s face. The cuts were obviously fresh but healing, almost completely closed. And they were numerous. Nico said, “Please. You can get cleaned up at our place, Laura. And I’d like to talk to you. Before the cops show up, please.”

Laura stared at Nico, then nodded. Nico gripped Laura’s hand tight and led her away from the crime scene. It was a short jog back to the secret base, and a brisk walk to Nico’s room. She shuffled Laura into the bathroom and said, “Clean up. I’ll find something for you to wear.”

She helped Laura out of her bloody clothes, then started going through her own stuff to see if there was anything in Laura’s size. When Nico realized the shower wasn’t running, she poked her head back in and saw Laura standing nude in the middle of the room. “I don’t know how it works,” she said. “I have never needed to clean myself.”

Nico sighed and quickly pointed out the hot and cold water, then told Laura to make sure she got the blood off before she used the soap (helpfully pointed out) and the shampoo (one of the few luxuries the girls had, only for use on certain days and traded between them all) and then Nico told her to call out if she needed any more help. Nico went back to looking through her clothes. A moment later the shower started.

She went over to Karolina’s room quickly, tiptoeing so she didn’t wake the sleeping couple, and fished out a shirt and a skirt that she quickly went back to her room with for comparison. She decided that it’d work until they could figure something else out. When she got back, Laura was standing in the middle of her room, her hair dripping wet and a towel in her hands. Nico said, “Here, these should fit you.” She turned her back as Laura pulled on the clothes, then turned back and helped her dry her hair. “You can take my bed,” Nico said. “I’ll figure something out. If one of my friends comes in here in the morning, just wake me up.”

Laura slipped into the bed and was asleep in seconds. Nico watched her for a minute, biting her lip and thinking about the first stray they brought in. But Nico trusted Laura for some reason. Really trusted her. She curled up in her chair and slowly fell asleep.

When she woke up, what felt like just seconds later, she saw Laura backed against the wall, claws extended from both hands, eyes flickering between Chase, Molly, and Karolina, who were standing protectively over her. Laura saw Nico’s open eyes and frowned just the slightest bit. The first emotion Nico saw her show.

She sat upright and pulled on Karolina’s sleeve. “Why are you guys all freaking out? She was in my bed. I was sleeping in a chair. It was kind of obvious she’s a guest.”

Chase scoffed. “Oh, yeah. Remember our first guest? He tried to kill us all!”

Laura said, “If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead. You would not be able to stop me.”

Nico sighed. “Not helping, Laura. Look, just put your claws away.” Laura hesitated, and Nico said, “Karolina, de-glow. Chase, stand down.” They hesitated too, but Nico glared them into submission. “Okay, Laura. Your turn.”

Immediately, Laura’s claws disappeared and she looked straight at Nico. “I am hungry. I would like to eat and then return to my mission.”

Nico led Laura to the kitchen and poured her some cereal, which Laura ate while Nico explained the previous night to Karolina and Chase, while Molly fetched Victor and Xavin.

When Molly returned with them, Nico squeezed her shoulder. “Why don’t you go check on Klara, Molly? Wake her up if she’s still sleeping.” Molly frowned, then threw her hands in the air and stomped away. Nico recapped for Xavin and Victor, and then they had a quick vote for what to do with Laura.

"I say we keep her around long enough to hear her out," Nico murmured. "Maybe ask her to stay indefinitely."

"I don’t know," Karolina said. "We don’t know anything about her…"

Xavin nodded. “A good reason to keep her near us. She is unknown, and she knows where we live. She seems to be friendly, but she may reveal the information to someone who isn’t unintentionally.”

Chase raised his hand. “I say once again. We don’t have a good track record with picking up strays.”

"One vampire," Nico said. "It was one vampire. And look at who else we’ve picked up that we thought were bad when we met! Xavin and Victor are our best friends."

Xavin frowned. “You thought I was bad?”

Karolina laughed and hugged Xavin’s arm. “You did attack everyone and try to kidnap me by force, honey.”

"Oh, yes." Xavin cleared her throat. "I understand that, then."

Laura said, “Your conversation is irrelevant. I have a mission. I will finish it. Afterwards I may return here.”

Nico blushed, but jogged over and sat down next to Laura. “But… do you really want to do that, Laura?”

Laura shrugged. “It is a mission. I have no other objectives. I am a… a weapon, and if nobody will use me, then I will use myself.”

Nico grabbed her arm. “And if we try to keep you here?”

Laura glanced down, then said, “I cut off your hands first. Without your staff you are powerless. I cut the heads off the aliens and damage the robot enough that it cannot function. Then I leave.” Laura stood up. “You will not try to keep me here.”

They didn’t try to stop her.

Victor said, “No offense, Nico, but I’m really glad she’s gone.”

* * *

It was two months before Laura arrived back in Los Angeles. Nico tracked the news, and there was a string of deaths of men who were revealed to be pedophiles or rapists, with either immediate evidence or evidence after investigating. They started in Los Angeles, but moved north after the first week. There were seventy-six deaths total when the killing stopped abruptly, and then Laura showed up in their secret base.

Nico, thankfully, was the first one to notice, and quickly took Laura away from the main room before anyone else saw her. “What are you doing here?” Nico asked. “How did you even get in?”

"I knew the way in," Laura said as Nico examined her. Her outfit was torn to shreds, and she was covered in dried blood and dirt. She was loosely carrying a big bag at her side. "I wanted to use your shower."

Nico laughed. “Okay, okay. Come on.” She led Laura to her room, then shut the door to the shower after her. She opened the bag and found clothes at the top. She took an experimental sniff; they weren’t too bad, and they looked clean. She set aside a shirt and pants, then looked through the bag for underwear. She didn’t find anything, but she did touch something hard and metal and gun-shaped. She decided to leave the bag alone after that.

Laura took her time in the shower, and when Nico heard it turn off she offered the clothes. “You were busy,” she said.

"So were you. Your team personally stopped seventeen bank robberies, ten destructive events, and six other attempted incursions." Laura stepped out in her clothes, which looked good on her. "I decided to stop my mission for the time being. There is nobody left for me to kill."

Nico surprised herself and Laura by hugging her. “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Nico said, and then smiled when she realized Laura’s hair was wet. “You need to dry your hair, Laura.”

Wordlessly, Laura held up the towel she’d used. Nico dried off her hair, then brushed it for Laura. It was almost certainly painful for her, since the brush kept catching on tangles and the ones she couldn’t untangle Nico just forced her way through. But Laura didn’t flinch, didn’t blink. When Laura’s hair was smooth, Nico braided it for her. Afterwards, she looked almost completely different. Younger. And she was looking at Nico with a spark of… something in her eyes.

And then Molly came in, as loud as ever.

"Hey, Nico, me and Klara want to go take a walk and Karolina and Xavin are busy being in love and Victor and Chase are doing whatever… hey, who’s that?"

"Laura," Nico said. "Her name is Laura. Molly, can you get everyone assembled in the living room while I talk to Laura?"

"Okay," Molly said happily. "And afterwards, can you take me and Klara outside?"

"Of course," Nico promised. As soon as Molly left, she turned to Laura. "Will you stay here? At least for a while, Laura?"

Laura’s brow furrowed. “Your friends don’t like me. And I doubt you want a serial killer in your team.”

Nico squeezed her arm. “Look, Victor was supposed to grow up to be a supervillain who kills every superhero on the planet. Now he’s not going to. There are two rules, okay? No killing, and you only fight if you want to. Follow those two rules and you’ll fit in great.”

"If you say so."

Everyone was waiting when Nico and Laura got to them. Or more accurately, everyone was arguing. Karolina and Chase were telling Molly and Klara to go, while Molly was telling them that Nico said everyone and everyone included Molly and Klara. Victor was trying to calm the situation down and Xavin was standing to the side, watching the argument with a neutral expression. She was the one who said, “Our leader has arrived. Hello again, Laura.”

"Laura is staying with us for a while," Nico said. "I expect you all to treat her well. I know we don’t know her, but we can get to know her better."

Laura stayed near Nico the rest of the day, watching the others as distrustfully as they watched her. Nico taught her solitaire and poker and a few other card games, and eventually coaxed Laura’s story out of her. The entire thing was horrifying and made Nico’s heart ache for the girl, who seemed to be really sweet once you got past the killer parts.

The next few weeks were slow, with no supervillain activity at all. While Chase went out to work, and Nico and Xavin took the girls out to window-shop and patrol, and Victor worked on the machines and electricity in the place, Nico got to know Laura. They perused Nico’s library and Laura quickly found a love for nonfiction and sci-fi, and they sat together often, just quietly reading.

A few days, Laura disappeared for hours and came back looking beat up but usually with a few hundred dollars. She didn’t answer when Nico asked where she got it, but she did say she didn’t steal anything or kill anyone.

Laura was away on one of her mysterious money-gathering trips when Klara pulled on Nico’s sleeve and said, “Molly and I want to go out for a walk in the park.”

Nico glanced over at Victor. “You want to come with? Maybe we can make it a patrol.” He nodded, and went and got Chase quickly, and they went out. It was barely thirty minutes before they saw someone throwing fire at policemen and fleeing bystanders.

Victor said, “You just had to say it was a patrol, didn’t you?”

Klara raised her hand. “I think I’m going to stay out of this fight. He’ll hurt my plants.”

Nico nodded. “I think it’s a good idea for you to sit this one out too, Molly. If you try getting in close to him, he could hurt you.”

Molly pouted, but she stayed near Klara as Nico pricked herself and brought out the Staff of One and Chase pulled his gloves out of his bag. Nico cycled through the spells she knew she had and couldn’t think of anything to dampen his fire. She said, “Chase, try to distract him from the other people. Victor, tase him. I’ll try and come up with a spell to knock him out.”

Chase blasted out some fire to grab the bad guy’s attention, which he unfortunately received. Victor managed to knock him out of the way, but…

"Take a nap," she hissed, leveling the staff at the mystery bad guy. Roses sprayed out of the tip, signifying she’d already used the spell and wasted a perfectly good rose-maker too.

Suddenly, he was on the ground, an arm around his throat. Seconds later, he stopped struggling. Laura pushed him off and stood up. “I deprived his brain of oxygen,” she said, approaching Nico. One of her arms looked like it was hanging weird, and Laura pushed it up with some weird noises. “Do not worry about my arm. It will heal. We should leave.”

Laura was looking really beat up. More than if she choked a guy to unconsciousness. Nico walked next to her and said, “What’s up? Where were you?”

Laura glanced over. “I found an underground mutant fighting ring. I go in. I fight. I win money. They like me because I cannot be killed. And I am a very proficient fighter. I always win my fights in five minutes or less. But they do not always let me fight.” Laura dug three hundred-dollar bills out of her pocket. “They let me tonight.” Laura moved her arm again and sighed. “Once I change my clothes, I would like to go shopping.”

Nico handed one of the bills to Victor and told them to go get some food and milk. She took Laura back to the base, where Xavin and Karolina were sitting at the table playing checkers. “Hey,” Karolina said, smiling brightly at Nico. Nico felt herself smiling before she could stop herself. “Xavin and I just got up. Where did everyone go?”

"We’re going out shopping, once Laura changes." Nico smiled at her friends as Laura went to her room. "You two want to come with us? Laura got a lot of money, so we might even be able to afford something nice."

"Sure," Karolina said, standing up. "Xavin, honey?"

"Of course I will come." They smiled at each other in that totally-in-love way they had and something uncomfortable twisted in Nico. Laura chose that moment to come back and sniff the air, before her lips twisted just slightly.

"What’s wrong?" Nico walked over to Laura and put an arm around her.

Laura said, “They are aroused.” Everyone except Laura blushed as she continued, “It is not a scent I am used to.” Laura lowered her voice to a soft murmur. “And you are jealous. I am an expert in body language. You are jealous of them.”

Nico coughed quietly. “Well. Laura, there’s, uh, some stuff you don’t point out. Like, when someone’s… smelling… er, aroused.”

"Okay," Laura said, head tilting. "May we go shopping, then?"

Thankfully, the shopping trip was uneventful. Laura went for black, which Nico definitely approved of. Karolina was less approving, and Xavin and Nico watched from the sidelines as Karolina attempted to convince Laura to try on a nice white blouse, which Laura was steadily refusing to do. (“It is impractical. It will get blood on it. Or any other number of fluids.”) The one thing Laura was sure to get was a number of sports bras. Three, to be precise. When Nico asked why, Laura said, “I will avoid ruining my clothes from now on. They do not allow me to fight bare-chested.”

Before they went to the cash register with all their stuff, Karolina grabbed Laura’s arm. “Okay, okay,” she said, “can we at least get you one nice thing? Here.” She held up a dark red dress. Laura took one look at it and said ‘no’ in the flattest possible voice and a face that actually looked a little incredulous. Karolina pouted until Laura’s lips twitched and she grabbed it.

"I will try it on," she said. "I will not like it."

They went to the dressing room. Laura disappeared into one of the stalls, and when she came out, Nico was pretty damn sure her jaw literally dropped. She knew Laura was muscular, she’d seen her naked after all, but the dress… it clung to the curves Laura had, while showing a generous amount of cleavage. And her arms were heavenly. Literally divine. Nico suddenly became aware that Laura was watching her just as much as she was watching Laura. Karolina was saying something about how maybe Laura didn’t have the figure for that one, when Laura disappeared back into the stall and changed in record time. “I am buying that dress,” she said to Karolina, who blinked in confusion and then grinned.

They began walking back, and Xavin began talking to Laura about fighting techniques. The topic got heated pretty quickly, so Karolina and Nico let them have their space, walking away from them and linking arms. “You know,” Karolina said, “she only bought that dress because you looked like you were going to jump her.”

"What?" Nico shook her head. "No. I did not look like I was going to jump her. I mean… I’m not even…"

Karolina laughed. “The two are not mutually exclusive, you know. But believe me, I saw the way you were looking at her. And, I mean, she follows you around like a lost puppy. She’s obviously got a crush on you. And you were definitely staring at her boobs at one point.”

"I was not," Nico said indignantly. She had enough class to avoid staring at someone’s breasts in the middle of a store. "And she does not have a crush on me. I think I’d know if someone had a crush on me."

"You didn’t notice my crush on you," Karolina pointed out. "You only figured it out because I nearly made out with your face."

Nico blushed and said, “Yeah, well, that was different. You’ve been my friend since we were, like, little kids. Laura’s, I don’t know. Laura’s different. She’s really honest, y’know? If she had a crush on me, I’d know.”

"Uh-huh," Karolina said. "Sure."

Neither of them noticed Laura, scowling as she shoved her hands into her jacket.

* * *

Laura kept it a secret from the others, but she had difficulties sleeping most nights, and usually wound up sleeping with Molly or Klara, holding them close and falling asleep to elaborate fantasies of motherhood. What she really wanted to do was crawl into Nico’s bed and ask if there was a way for witches to detect souls, but she was frustrated with Nico.

It was a constant question for her: Her soul. She asked Molly exactly once, and Molly told her that everything born on Earth had a soul. Which didn’t help. Laura was created.

Laura’s eyes opened as Molly shuffled to press her face into Laura’s stomach. The little girl let out a soft murmur of “Mommy” and Laura put a hand on her hair. She remembered her own mother doing that exactly once, one of the few instances she allowed Laura to lay her head in her lap, and it was comforting.

The door opened and Laura resisted the urge to let her claws out and attack immediately. The smell of machinery and electricity washed over her as the android, Victor, poked his head in, calling for Molly. He locked eyes with Laura, who gently shook Molly awake. The little girl stretched and said, “G’morning, Laura.” She hugged Laura and said, “Now can you all get out of my room?”

Laura nodded, but first she kissed Molly’s forehead and said, “I am here for you if you wish to speak. I understand… missing someone.”

Molly turned pink and she grumbled, “Yeah, whatever.”

She followed Victor out. He asked, “Why were you in there with Molly?”

Laura looked him over. She knew he’d had Nico, saw it and smelled it whenever they were in the same room. She said, “It is none of your business.” And she went into her own room.

She thought about putting on the dress, bought two weeks previous. But she needed to do her exercises, and Chase was finally finished with the set he’d made out of scraps with a little help from Victor. She walked out in just her sports bra and sweatpants, and resisted the unfamiliar urge to preen when Nico’s eyes went to her body and didn’t leave. An even more unfamiliar urge took root in her, too. Laura felt warm. She wanted… she had no idea what she wanted. Just that she wanted Nico.

She started with pull-ups. She did fifty before she flipped, hanging on by her knees and curling upwards. That was purely to show off, naturally, and she surreptitiously watched the others as she exercised. Karolina and Xavin were splitting their attention between each other and her, both smirking. Chase was staring outright. Victor was too busy getting Molly and Klara breakfast. And Nico, she was blushing and throwing surreptitious glances at Laura.

Laura tilted her head, locking eyes with Nico when she looked over again. Nico blushed and quickly said she was going to go find something to read and then fled.

Laura dropped from the bar (cracking her neck, completely healed in a second) and moved on to the improvised weights. She lifted until her arms felt weak and then put the weights back. Then she began her stretches, and when she was done she called out, “Who wants to spar with me?”

"Me," Karolina said. Xavin naturally followed her. Victor shrugged and tagged along. Molly bounced up energetically, but Laura shook her head.

"I do not want to fight a child," she said. "But you should watch, Molly."

Laura positioned her three sparring partners at equidistant points from her and closed her eyes. “I will not use my claws,” she said, “though you are all free to use your powers. You may begin whenever you wish.”

Karolina flew while the other two attacked from the ground. Laura twisted out of the way of their strikes and used Xavin as a launching board, grabbing Karolina around the waist and bringing her down. Laura made sure they landed on her instead of Karolina, and felt things fracture. She struck Karolina in the chest to wind her for a few moments and twisted to her feet just in time to accept a blow from Victor. Her spine and ribs were still healing as she turned aside a strike from Xavin. She brought Victor’s chin down on her ascending knee, and avoided a punch from Xavin while swinging her foot into Victor’s head. He went down heavily, but Laura let him be until she kicked Xavin in the stomach and brought her down with a well-placed elbow. She stepped on Xavin to get her the rest of the way to the ground and examined Victor. He was still okay.

Laura said, “You are all very good fighters.”

Karolina stopped coughing long enough to say, “Are you kidding me? You took us apart instantly!”

"Yes," Laura said. "You are all very good fighters. But I am better. Part of my training was learning to fight many opponents." Sensing their annoyance she added, "But you did very well. If any of you are interested, I could train you."

Molly’s arm shot up. “Oh! Me! Me! I wanna learn to fight!”

Laura laughed. “Maybe I’ll start with the basics with you, Molly, before we get to the complex things. Where is Nico?”

"Here," Nico said, smiling vibrantly at Laura from the doorway. Laura smiled back until the scent of arousal and sex hit her. Nico’s smile disappeared with Laura’s.

"I need to speak with you." She approached, but Nico shook her head.

"I heard something on the police scanner." She held up a notepad. "A, uh, a costumed robbery. We have to go. I grabbed you a shirt."

Laura accepted the shirt and pulled it on as they all got into the Leapfrog. Being in close proximity with Nico was making heat pool between her legs, and Laura was eager to hit something to make that feeling go away.

* * *

There was an altercation with the X-Men, as they wanted to take Molly. She saw Wolverine in the middle of the fight, smelled the man who supplied her genetic material, and lost herself. She abandoned the one she was fighting, already mentally berating herself for leaving Chase’s right side undefended, but her rage consumed her. She stuck her claws in his spine, making him growl.

He knocked her away as he fell to his knees, the wound already healing. Laura’s mind flickered through tactics and she decided she would bleed him. She went on the assault, lashing out with all of her claws, the feeling of adamantium scraping against adamantium only fueling her rage. There was nothing but blood and the screaming in her ears.

"It’s your fault," fought its way past her grinding teeth. "It’s your fault." It became her mantra as he stopped fighting back, simply dodging or turning her strikes. That only made Laura angrier, and she heard herself scream as she finally got past his guard, driving her foot-claw up into his chest and wrapping her other leg around his neck, driving her hand straight towards his eyes.

Her arm caught on something, and she twisted and lashed blindly. Too late, she saw Nico’s wide eyes. Her blood, pushing out from the dual wounds in her chest. “No.” No, no, no. Nico’s staff was in her hand; Laura grabbed it and spoke, ordering the staff to do her bidding: “Physician, heal thyself.”

Nico breathed. Laura fled.

* * *

Laura knew how to survive on her own. She survived her way across America, after all. She was aimless then, but she wasn’t aimless anymore. She made her way across the country once again, to New York. She resumed her mission to kill those who harmed girls and women. She slept for an hour each night, and spent the rest of her time investigating and killing.

Eventually, she began to watch after the prostitutes. She became famous very quickly for defending them against dangerous men, which amused and bemused Laura. Several eventually came to Laura and told her they were forced into prostitution by their pimps, and were abused. It took Laura three months to dismantle four operations, and she very quickly figured out who to send the victims to. In return for her assistance, they took care of her. She had food each evening, and there was always a couch for her to sleep on. They let her talk at her own pace and helped her sort through her emotions about Nico and the others.

It took several months for her peace to be shattered.

When the Skrulls appeared, Laura immediately went out and began shepherding all the girls into a building that Laura could defend if she needed to. She knew that killing a Skrull was difficult, so when one appeared she killed them as quickly as possible. Usually by sneaking up and scissoring her claws to ensure she cut entirely through the neck.

As she walked through the girls, checking in on each of them, she smelled mutants. She picked out a few and said, “If you must, use your powers. But be careful. You will make targets of yourselves.”

One of them grabbed her arm. “But… where are you going, Laura?”

Laura put gripped the woman’s hand. “I must go and save who I can. Please be careful.”

The woman (no, Charlie, Laura remembered, her name was Charlie, a telekinetic) bit her lip. Then Charlie leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “For good luck,” she said, smiling nervously. “Please come back, Laura.”

It was a definite surprised but Laura didn’t give that away. Instead she said, “I will come back. I promise.”

Laura’s heart was beating hard against her ribs as she left. None of them knew she was only sixteen; after all, she was a trained killer and people were always telling her she looked older than she was. None of them knew she’d never been kissed before.

Still, Laura thought with a smile as she exited onto the chaotic streets, Charlie was a good woman. And if that woman was to be her only kiss… it would not be a disappointment.

She helped twenty-three of the women she protected back to the safehouse, and seventeen civilians to other shelters. She only engaged Skrulls when she had to, taking them down a half-dozen at a time.

It was inevitable, she supposed, that she would come across the Runaways.

She was guiding a black family to her safehouse when she saw them being attacked. Xavin wasn’t with them, but they were being assisted by a group Laura was unfamiliar with. From the way Nico grinned, she assumed that they were familiar with the group.

Laura told the family to stay where they were and took down five Skrulls before either side was aware of her. Before either side could react, she killed the rest.

Nico stepped towards her. “Laura. You… look good.”

Laura looked over all of them. “You should assist the evacuation if you have nothing better to do than fight random skirmishes.”

One of the boys with the smell of magic on him stepped forward. “Look, I have no idea who you are, but we’re trying to find my boyfriend so he can attempt to put a stop to all this!”

Laura’s eyes slid between him and Nico. “I see,” she said flatly. “I wish you luck then. I am busy saving lives.” She turned back to the family and called out, “It’s all right. Come along, quickly, before more Skrulls come.”

After that it became too dangerous for Laura to go out, so she stayed in her safehouse and defended. When it was over, and there were no more Skrulls, she helped organize them and formed groups going to certain places so that she was sure none of them would be undefended. Laura herself headed the group with Charlie in it. She felt eyes on her when she kissed Charlie at the end of the trip, but felt nothing of it. The eyes disappeared before they fell into bed, so it didn’t matter.

Afterwards, Charlie rolled over and smiled at Laura. “You’re good, girl. Quiet. But good.”

Laura sat up, looking down at Charlie. “How old are you?” she asked quietly.

Charlie hummed and came up with “Nineteen. A couple months ago was my birthday. Completely forgot about it. And my one-year anniversary of sex work is coming up in a few weeks.” She stretched out. “Why, honey?”

"I don’t know," Laura said. A moment later, "I believe I’m sixteen years old. I don’t know for sure. I did not see my records in the Facility. All I have to go on is my biology, which has been severely altered. I may be a legal adult. I have no way of knowing."

Charlie sat upright, then fell back with a groan. “Could’ve warned me about that, honey. Sure as hell don’t look sixteen, though.”

Laura laughed. It was an odd sound, but it made Charlie smile. “I haven’t ever heard you laugh,” she murmured. “Glad to see you can.”

Laura leaned down and kissed her again.

* * *

Nico went back to New York on her own. None of the others trusted Laura anymore, not after she nearly killed Nico. It didn’t matter that Laura healed her, or that they’d seen her saving lives in New York. But that didn’t matter because it was pretty personal to Nico, anyways. Their trip across the country took a while, and at some point Nico found enough privacy to summon her staff and murmur one word: “Laura.”

It was some kind of astral projection. Nico saw Laura again, saw the way she directed and led people. She was more sure of herself, more emotional. Nico saw Laura kiss an older woman and shut the spell off before she saw more.

She was in New York for exactly thirty minutes when a woman whistled at her and said, “You lost, little girl? This isn’t exactly your part of town.”

"No," Nico said, then examined her a little closer. "I’m, uh, looking for someone. Her name is Laura. Laura Kinney."

The woman flipped open a knife with the softest noise. The others around watched with a detached interest. She said, “Listen, little girl, I don’t know what you want Laura for, but…”

Nico, not having any time for bullshit, grabbed the knife from the woman and cut her arm, letting the staff out. “I am a witch,” she said clearly, “and I want to see Laura.”

One of the other women said, “Come on, then. But if you try anything, girl, your little magic tricks won’t help you.”

Nico laughed, remembering watching Laura take down three of her teammates in less than a minute. “Believe me. I know that.”

Laura was living in a small apartment packed with exercise equipment. There were four other women with her, and seven children, and Laura herself was lifting weights. She stopped as soon as the door open, sniffed, and set the weights back. “Hello, Nico.”

One of the girls guiding her said, “She threatened us, L. But we figured you could handle her.”

Laura smiled, small but genuine. “I can. Thank you, Hope. You can stay here for a while if you wish. Nico and I are going to speak in my bedroom.”

Laura’s bedroom was small and soundproofed. She said, “The women keep this apartment for me and so they and their children have a safe place to be. I ensure they are protected and they ensure I am safe. If you are coming for revenge.” Laura’s claws came out. “It will not end well for you. I must protect them, because nobody else will.”

Nico sighed. “No, Laura, I’m not here to… I mean, you healed me! I forgave you a long time ago.” Nico reached out. She waited until Laura sheathed her claws to take her hands. “I just… wanted to see you again.”

Laura shook her head emphatically. Her vulnerability was showing on her face, the open, frightened look. “Do not. I… want you, but I do not want you to be here if you do not want me.”

"Oh." Nico bit her lip. "Y’know, Wolverine came around a few weeks after… that battle. He was looking for you. He gave me something to give to you." Nico produced a large envelope and Laura frowned slightly, but accepted it. "I don’t know what’s in it. I just wanted to… to see you again, and let you know that you always have a home with us. But I guess you have a new home, don’t you?"

"Yes," Laura said absently as she opened the envelope, revealing another envelope and a letter from Wolverine. She read that first, and Nico read after her. He explained that she sent two letters to him, one for him and one for Laura just in case. He attempted to find Laura, but gave up when he couldn’t after a few months.

Laura threw the envelope aside. She said to Nico, “If that is all, you may leave.”

Nico rested her hand on Laura’s cheek, biting her lip as Laura leaned into it and looked at her with heartbroken eyes. “You always have a home with us,” she repeated. “It might be a crappy, rundown home, but it’s yours if you want it.”

Laura thanked her and asked her to go away.

* * *

A few years later, Laura found herself in a lot of trouble for slaughtering a group of government agents that were raping her women. She made sure that those capable of protecting the women were trained, then fled. She went up into Canada first, crossing west as secretly as she could. Then she crossed the border again, and showed up on the doorway of the Runaways, smiling nervously. “Hello,” she said to a glaring Molly. “Is Nico here?”

Molly punched her in the leg with her normal strength. “That’s for being a jerk and leaving!” Molly punched her again, in the stomach. “And that’s for never letting me talk to you about my mom!” Molly crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “Nico’s in her room crying. Like usual. You jerk.”

Laura slipped past the others as quietly as she could, and quickly made her way to Nico’s room. Nico was sleeping, holding Laura’s red dress to her chest. Laura pulled it away gently, then reached out and put a hand on Nico’s cheek. She shifted and mumbled a little. Laura couldn’t help her smile. She leaned down and kissed Nico’s forehead, then stripped and went into Nico’s shower.

When Nico woke up, she heard the shower running. Confused, she entered, and gaped as she came face-to-face with a completely naked Laura, who stared back steadily at her. Nico said, “Mind if I join you, Laura?”

Laura shook her head, and Nico quickly pulled off all her clothes and pressed herself against Laura, shivering as Laura ran a hand down her back. Laura murmured, “You want me now?”

"I want you," Nico confirmed, breathless and terrified of what she was doing. "I… I missed you so much, it was easier at first but it just got worse, you weren’t here for long but I… I don’t know, I don’t know what I’m feeling, I never have. I thought I wanted Alex, Victor, Karolina, thought I didn’t want them… I don’t know." She was crying, leaning into Laura, fully aware of how pathetic she was being. "I don’t know," she repeated, like Laura could help her know.

Laura lifted her chin and kissed her. Nico kissed back, and then she moaned as Laura ran a finger across her clit. “I have wanted you for so long,” she whispered. “I will help you decide if this is what you want.”

They had sex in the shower, then dried off and went to the bed. Laura had learned a lot about sex from her lovers in New York, and she was glad for that experience as she got between Nico’s legs and used her tongue.

Afterwards, they cuddled. Nico said, “There’s still a lot to talk about. And we’ll have to talk to the others…”

"Of course," Laura murmured.

"But later," Nico added. "Much later. After a nap."

Laura laughed. “Weren’t you just sleeping an hour ago?”

Nico smiled adoringly at Laura and kissed her nose. “Yeah, well, someone tired me out again.” She sighed dramatically. “Who knew orgasms were such hard work?”

Laura smiled and hugged her closer. “Just rest.”

Nico kissed Laura on the lips before closing her eyes. Laura nuzzled her hair, happy once again.


End file.
